US President Donald Trump signed a bill on Monday making it a federal crime to post “revenge porn” — whether it is real or generated by artificial intelligence.The “Take It Down Act,” passed with overwhelming bipartisan congressional support, criminalizes non-consensual publication of intimate images, while also mandating their removal from online platforms.”With the rise of AI image generation, countless women have been harassed with deepfakes and other explicit images distributed against their will,” Trump said at a signing ceremony in the Rose Garden of the White House.”And today we’re making it totally illegal,” the president said. “Anyone who intentionally distributes explicit images without the subject’s consent will face up to three years in prison.”Websites that fail to remove the images promptly, within 48 hours, will face civil liabilities, Trump said.First Lady Melania Trump endorsed the bill in early March and attended the signing ceremony in a rare public White House appearance.The First Lady has largely been an elusive figure at the White House since her husband took the oath of office on January 20, spending only limited time in Washington. In remarks at the signing ceremony, she described the bill as a “national victory that will help parents and families protect children from online exploitation.””This legislation is a powerful step forward in our efforts to ensure that every American, especially young people, can feel better protected from their image or identity being abused,” she said.Deepfakes often rely on artificial intelligence and other tools to create realistic-looking fake videos.They can be used to create falsified pornographic images of real women, which are then published without their consent and proliferate.Some US states, including California and Florida, have laws criminalizing the publication of sexually explicit deepfakes, but critics have voiced concerns the “Take It Down Act” grants the authorities increased censorship power.The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit focused on free expression, has said the bill gives “the powerful a dangerous new route to manipulate platforms into removing lawful speech that they simply don’t like.” The bill would require social media platforms and websites to have procedures in place to swiftly remove non-consensual intimate imagery upon notification from a victim.- Harassment, bullying, blackmail -An online boom in non-consensual deepfakes is currently outpacing efforts to regulate the technology around the world due to a proliferation of AI tools, including photo apps digitally undressing women.While high-profile politicians and celebrities, including singer Taylor Swift and Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, have been victims of deepfake porn, experts say women not in the public eye are equally vulnerable.A wave of AI porn scandals have been reported at schools across US states with hundreds of teenagers targeted by their own classmates.Such non-consensual imagery can lead to harassment, bullying or blackmail, sometimes causing devastating mental health consequences, experts warn.Renee Cummings, an AI and data ethicist and criminologist at the University of Virginia, said the bill is a “significant step” in addressing the exploitation of AI-generated deepfakes and non-consensual imagery.”Its effectiveness will depend on swift and sure enforcement, severe punishment for perpetrators and real-time adaptability to emerging digital threats,” Cummings told AFP.At least one mother hailed the new legislation as a step in the right direction.”It’s a very important first step,” Dorota Mani told AFP on Monday, calling it at “very powerful bill.”As the mother of a young victim, Mani said she felt empowered because “now I have a legal weapon in my hand, which nobody can say no to.”

At first glance, the Instagram profile of Ms Rachel fits the image an influencer who has won millions of devoted subscribers for her sing-songy educational content for toddlers and parenting tips.In a pink hairband and denim dungarees, the 42-year-old mother-of-two doles out advice on potty training kids and moral support for struggling parents — always with a reassuring smile.So it was an abrupt shift last year when she began speaking out about the plight of children in Gaza, peppering her account with appeals for aid that sowed discord among followers and spurred calls for a federal investigation.”I think it should be controversial to not say anything,” she said a recent interview with independent anchor Mehdi Hassan, of the mounting backlash against her fundraising and advocacy.”It’s sad that people try to make it controversial when you speak out for children that are facing immeasurable suffering. Silence wasn’t a choice for me,” she added.That compulsion has put a spotlight on the beloved figure in millions of households, the American early childhood educator and social media sensation known offline as Rachel Accurso.The fallout comes at a perilous moment for children in the war-battered Palestinian enclave, where aid has only just begun to trickle in after Israel cut it off for weeks, and where aid groups have sounded the alarm over food shortages and famine.But the backlash against her activism — which she has aimed at parents on social media, rather than in her videos for children — reflects broader polarization in the United States over the war that has swept campuses, offices and society at large.- ‘All children, in every country’ -In May last year, Accurso launched a fundraising drive that gathered $50,000 for Save the Children.But she spoke also spoke tearfully about the vitriol and “bullying” that came streaming in the form of allegations of anti-Israeli bias.”Palestinian children, Israeli children, children in the US — Muslim, Jewish, Christian children — all children, in every country,” she wrote in response. “Not one is excluded.”Allegations of anti-Israeli bias and anti-Semitism have only mounted since.And so too the toll among children in Gaza, where the Hamas-run health ministry says more than 10,000 children have died since the October 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas that left 1,218 people on the Israeli side dead.A privately funded pro-Israel lobby group last month urged US Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate whether Accurso “is being funded by a foreign party to push anti-Israel propaganda to skew public opinion.”The organization StopAntisemitism, which describes itself as a grassroots watchdog, alleged Accurso was spreading “Hamas propaganda.”But it also acknowledged that Accurso had posted in support of Israeli children, including Ariel and Kfir Bibas who were the youngest hostages taken by Hamas and died in captivity.Accurso told The New York Times the accusation she is being funded by Hamas was “absurd” and “patently false.””The painful reality,” the newspaper quoted her as saying, “is that Palestinian children in Gaza have been killed by the thousands and continue to be killed, maimed and starved right now. The idea that caring about one group of children prevents us from caring about another group of children is false.”- ‘You should be ashamed’ -Accurso has deactivated comments on some of her posts urging support for Palestinian children. But commentators on other posts reflect the depth and breadth of emotions that have erupted over her posts.”Love your show. Not your politics,” one user wrote under a Ms Rachel Instagram post promoting an interview on her activism. Another commentator says: “Ms Rachel is a national treasure.”Among those voicing support for the megastar was Tommy Vietor, who worked with former president Barack Obama and hosts the popular Pod Save America podcast.”Antisemitism is a real problem and cynically and dishonestly making those allegations for political purposes makes things worse, not better,” Vietor wrote, dismissing the anti-Semitism allegations.Accurso has ultimately doubled down, despite the criticism.She recently posted images of her meeting with Rahaf, a three-year-old girl from Gaza who lost both her legs in an attack.”We know treating children like they are being treated in Gaza isn’t right morally and ethically. We know it in our souls and hearts,” she wrote along with a picture of the two embracing.”Leaders who are silent and not helping these children, you should be ashamed. Your silence will be remembered.”

When armed immigration agents made a surprise visit earlier this month to Pupatella, a trendy pizzeria in the US capital’s Dupont neighborhood, they may not have made any arrests, but they delivered a clear message.The show of force, part of an “enhanced operation” by President Donald Trump’s hardline administration, has had ripple effects through an industry reliant on immigrant labor, owners and others in the sector say.The agents asked to see employment eligibility forms known as I-9s, said Natasha Neely, vice president of Pupatella, which has several locations in the Washington area.”They did not have a warrant, and they did not have any form of paperwork, so they were turned away,” she told AFP.A few hours later, agents showed up at Pupatella’s Capitol Hill location, this time with a “notice of inspection,” Neely said. The manager referred them to the restaurant’s corporate office.The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency said it had arrested 189 undocumented migrants after handing out 187 such notices in the Washington area between May 6 and May 9.In a press release, it described the activity as an “enhanced targeted immigration enforcement operation focusing on criminal alien offenders.” While the inspection notices are not unusual, Neely said, they are normally delivered by e-mail due to their administrative nature.”We have never experienced anything like this,” she said, expressing confusion about why the restaurant had been targeted.- Crackdown fear -Trump has made deporting undocumented immigrants a key priority for his second term, after successfully campaigning against an alleged “invasion” by criminals.So far, his administration has deported tens of thousands of migrants, with US courts hearing cases on allegations that the government violated due process in certain cases.Undocumented migrants are “the backbone of our industry. From top to bottom,” Shawn Townsend, president of the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington (RAMW), told AFP.In addition to the restaurant industry, immigrant labor plays a crucial role in many sectors of the economy, including agriculture and construction.Before Trump’s inauguration in January, RAMW knew immigration enforcement “was going to be a priority of the incoming administration, and so we held our first I-9 training workshop,” said Townsend.One restaurant owner, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he felt threatened when immigration agents recently visited his establishment.”I’m going to see what the repercussions of that are. Basically, I don’t know whether they’re going to fine me forever or try to put me in jail,” he said.- Labor impacts -According to a survey by employment law firm Littler Mendelson, 58 percent of executives said they were concerned Trump’s anti-immigration policies would create labor shortages. The manufacturing and hospitality sectors were the most concerned.Since his restaurant was visited, the owner who requested anonymity said “anyone who had any questions about their eligibility to work has left.””They were advised by advocates… to basically just lay low, not come into work.”Townsend said that the “political climate” and economic challenges facing small businesses were likely combining to raise anxiety among restaurant workers.Increased immigration enforcement, as during Trump’s first term in office, “creates a scenario where (staff) may not return to work,” he said.Neely said employees at Pupatella were startled by the surprise ICE visit, but that the restaurant was taking steps to address the situation.”We’ve made sure all of the managers know what the restaurants’ rights are and what each team member’s rights are,” she said.Nevertheless, the raids do have a chilling effect.”Let’s be honest, if anyone shows up at any location in a federal uniform with guns and vests… that’s unnerving.”